I trust some of you will remember this post in which I talked about how one town in Catalunya had set up a referendum on independence in spite of the fact that Spain was using all sorts of constitutional tricks to deny Catalans a vote on the issue.

Some people will have noticed that I have a feed from Nationalia on my blog list, and this has just flagged up the latest news on how a large number of communities in Catalunya are going to do the same thing en masse on 13 December this year, and how international observers will monitor the vote to ensure that it is fair. I had thought that it would be remarkable if fifty or a hundred communities did so, but 130 is a huge number, above all expectations.

For those of us who are interested there's a dedicated website which, thanks to Google Translate, we can read by clicking this picture:

It goes without saying that this could be one of the most momentous and significant days for stateless nations in Europe. Yes, a large majority of those who don't want independence are likely to simply boycott the vote, and it will not be officially binding on the Spanish State. But if the result is anywhere near similar to that in Arenys de Munt in September (96.2% in favour on a 41% turnout) it will become all but impossible for the Spanish to continue to deny Catalunya an official referendum.

It will also mean that the EU has to seriously consider how it would accommodate an independent Catalunya ... and that will pave the way for "internal enlargement" (to use the jargon) for countries such as Wales, Scotland, Euskadi, and Flanders to follow if and when a majority of people in these nations vote for it.

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comments:

The Spanish constitution says it's 'illegal' / 'unconstitutional' to hold a referendum on secession from the Spanish state. The words 'uncostitutional' give it a veneer of respectability ... same sort of trick Turkey and China or Russia or other dodgy states always use against opposition ideas.

Of course as the Socialist Spanish nationalist ruling party know, it was 'unconstitutional' and 'illegal' to have gay marriages or abortion in the Spanish state until they erm, changed the constitution. You see, that's what democracies do!

The Spanish nationalists of the PSOE and PP parties, like the Turks or Chinese, talk a lot about the importance of the 'unity' of their state ... but very little of the unity or right of nations within their borders.

Catalans are taking a peaceful, democratic and civic action to gain independence. If we can agree that Northern Ireland, after 30 years of violence by the IRA, have the right to chose their constitutional future, then we should also recognise the right of the peaceful Catalans.

Good on you for keeping on about this. We can see at least the Catalans are trying. They also had a 100,000 (so they said) march through Brussels recently. About the only Plaid politician banging the independence drum at the moment is the MEP. The rest need to catch up with her. Whatever happened to Plaid's on-line independence initiative? Wake up there in Cardiff Bay!

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